First, please call me James. Ministers among us have a variety of styles. I find I’m happiest with that informal approach, reserving that more formal for court and public events. Now, if you have to call me Reverend James, that’s really fine. Also, I’ve always been comfortable when parents insist their children call me Reverend, and, equally so, when they don’t.

Most of all I am so honored to be able to serve with you all over the next while as your interim minister.

When Jan and I decided it was time to retire from our work for the past quarter of a century, she as a librarian, most recently research librarian at the renowned Perkins School for the Blind (worth looking up), and me as a UU parish minister, most recently at the First Unitarian Church of Providence, in Rhode Island, and to return home to California, we both that was going to be it. We have other interests, most notably the practice of Zen Buddhism. Additionally Jan’s mom is in the area and she wants to have more time with her. Me, I write, and expected that to fill out much of my “free” time.

Turned out there is to be a transition. Perkins asked Jan to continue for a couple years at least as a consultant. And, me, I found the itch to do at least one more round of ministry, particularly if it allowed me a little more time to devote to my other projects. Turned out you all were in a position where you could only offer a three-quarters time position, at least for the first year of your intended two-year process toward your next settled minister. And it seems I have experience with most areas you would like to address in this time of transition. It appears the stars aligned and, well, here we are.

We will all have some adjusting to do. The way the Board and I have tried to arrange the three quarters time of it is that one week out of four I will be gone, the exact week worked out in advance based on the needs of the church and family. Otherwise I expect to be around, hoping to be more useful than annoying. My exact office hours are yet to be worked out, but we’ll publish them soon. I would love to meet with any of you, although I would counsel against just coming up to the church, as I expect my dance card to fill up most weeks. So, appointments are always wise. During the day, during the week is always best, but don’t worry if that isn’t possible for you, we will find ways to get together!

Again, what an honor, what a treat!

See you in church,James

My Liberty Depends on You Being Free, Too

This Sunday, we enjoy our annual Bridging Ceremony with our graduating young adults! I am grateful to Religious Education Director, Vicki Gavel, for taking on this invaluable endeavor. When you listen and witness these young adults in our church this Sunday during our service, engage them as your itinerate teachers about to take a walk-about!

I have "launched" three kids into that big, wild world... I understand this nerve-racking and exciting time! That world is a challenging, vexing world. Some have called the millennial generation ( born 1981 - 1997) the "Ben Franklin" generation. The Ben Franklins want a fair system they can be part of, and that can benefit everyone in it. And, yet, we are sending them out into a world that is lacking in fairness and loaded with inequality. I grew up in Detroit and I have never seen such growing racial violence since I was very, very young.

There have been twenty-four deaths protested by the Black Lives Matter Movement since it's inception in July 2013. That's two years, twenty-four deaths. That does not count the nine deaths in recent the Charleston shooting on June 17, 2015.

It is still echoing in my ears and giving me chills.

What President Obama said at the memorial service for Reverend Pinckney...

"That my liberty depends on you being free, too. That history can’t be a sword to justify injustice, or a shield against progress, but must be a manual for how to avoid repeating the mistakes of the past -- how to break the cycle. A roadway toward a better world. ... that the path of grace involves an open mind -- but, more importantly, an open heart. ... That, more than any particular policy or analysis, is what’s called upon right now, I think -- what a friend of mine, the writer Marilyn Robinson, calls 'that reservoir of goodness, beyond, and of another kind, that we are able to do each other in the ordinary cause of things.

That reservoir of goodness. If we can find that grace, anything is possible. If we can tap that grace, everything can change.

... Clementa Pinckney found that grace.

Cynthia Hurd found that grace.

Susie Jackson found that grace.

Ethel Lance found that grace.

DePayne Middleton-Doctor found that grace.

Tywanza Sanders found that grace.

Daniel L. Simmons, Sr. found that grace.

Sharonda Coleman-Singleton found that grace.

Myra Thompson found that grace.

Through the example of their lives, they’ve now passed it on to us. May we find ourselves worthy of that precious and extraordinary gift, as long as our lives endure."

May our young adults, and we ourselves, enjoy an open mind -- but, more importantly, an open heart. May we find that grace that can conform the culture of violence into a culture of peace.

Best,Kim

Who's That?

To contact people named in The View please see the PUC Directory which is available in the Members Section of the PUC website. If you need the password for the Members Section, or if you do not have access to a computer, contact the PUC Office for help accessing it. The phone number and office hours are listed each week at the very bottom of The View.

Contents

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Incoming Interim Minister Rev. James Ismael Ford has written a number of books, including If You're Lucky, Your Heart Will Break. PUC members who have started reading it find it a delightful and accessible book that communicates religious concepts in a down-to-earth way. Come and discuss the first two parts with our friendly small group.

Contact Lori Geittmann for location and details. Her contact information is in the PUC directory.

From Amazon“Using vignettes and anecdotes from his own life - as well as quotations drawn from sources as varied as the Bible, Yiddish aphorisms, and stand-up comedy - Zen teacher and Unitarian Universalist minister James Ishmael Ford shares the gifts won over his lifetime of full-hearted engagement with the Zen path. ‘I've found myself broken open,’ Ford says, ‘and found in that opening my fundamental connection to the whole world.’”

What's more, If You're Lucky, Your Heart Will Break breathes new life into the Buddhist ideas of karma and rebirth - as well as the Buddhist precepts of ethical action - and finds for them kinship in other spiritual endeavors. Even the most cynical of hearts will find resonance in Ford's compassionate presentation of basic human truths.”

PUC's Game Night is a favorite PUC event for some some folks. Come join us for an evening of fun and fellowship. It's a great time for adults and kids. Bring a favorite game or two. Children under 12 years old must bring their adult.

Come and tour Rachel Bruhnke's abundant vegetable beds and fruit trees at her third annual potluck dinner in the garden. Enjoy dinner and fellowship, share tips for sustainable cultivation, and see how Rachel’s garden has grown and improved over the years.

Bring an earth friendly dish to share with organic produce from your garden or farmer’s market and responsibly raised and obtained animal products.

Please RSVP to Betty Saunders. Betty’s phone number and email address, as well as Rachel’s address are in the PUC Directory.

Thank you to everyone who donated to help us provide backpacks for Toberman Center in San Pedro. The realities of the expense of school supplies often makes it hard for some families to look forward to a new school year. Several children will find it easier to start the new year this fall thanks to you. Also, we give a huge thanks to Gregory Garcia, who not only shopped for the backpacks, but donated a huge amount toward this gift.

Please plan to attend this Sunday's service. We will be honoring our recent high school graduates with a Bridging Ceremony. It is a lovely service for all ages, and will be more meaningful for our youth if we have support from our community. This will be a fun service for kids as well as adults, so we hope to see you all in church Sunday morning.

Thanks to all who have helped with Summer with the Doctors. Many talented people have given their time on one or more Sundays so that our kids have a good class to attend. We always need more help, as we will have classes through the labor day weekend. We are also needing some special people to commit to teaching our regular fall curriculum, starting September 13, and meeting on the second and fourth Sundays of the month.

Love and Wonder,
Vicki

Strengthening Spirituality

At Home

I hope you have found something practical to use with your child/ children in the tips given in recent weeks. To close out this series, I have a quote for you, written by Thomas Moore in his book The Soul's Religion: Cultivating a Profoundly Spiritual Way of Life.

“To be spiritual is to be taken over by a mysterious, divine compulsion to manifest some aspect of life's deepest force. We become most who we are when we allow the spirit to dismember us, unsettling our plans and understandings, remaking us from the very foundations of our existence. Nothing is more challenging, nothing less sentimental, than the invitation of spirit to become who we are, not who we think we ought to be.”

I like thinking of an invitation to become who we are. This, surely, is what we want for our PUC kids. It believe it requires of us our attention and our intention.

Intergeneration Service on the BeachThis Friday August 7Final Friday August 147:00 p.m.On the beach at Avenue G and Esplanade in Redondo Beach

Only two weeks left. End the work week by exploring our UU principals in a fun way and share a beach sunset with your PUC friends. Family Religious Education presents an active service at 7:00 p.m.

New comers will feel very welcome. It’s relaxed and appropriate for all ages. The planned portion of the evening will last about 45 minutes. Park your car where Avenue G intersects with Esplanade in Redondo Beach. Walk down the stairs and meet up on the sand, just a few yards from the walkway.

The story begins with a diverse group of curious and passionate people coming together to explore possibilities and potential for an early learning center that represented a common vision and philosophy…

Keeping together and making progress through challenges (they were a diverse group after all) and making sure no one was lost or left behind…

Working together, fearlessly and tirelessly to transform a space. Supporting each other to reveal hidden talents and strengths…

Now the school’s Licensing Application has been successfully submitted and the “beginning” rather than the “end” is near…

There are still a few loose ends before we are ready for inspections, so if you can join us Saturday 8/8 8:30am -1:30pm, we would welcome and appreciate the help.

Craig Block will find out the results of his MRI soon and may be home until August 7 at which time he has a planned hospital stay from August 7 to 11. He would like visitors.

Pat Shull is at Lomita Post-Acute Care Center and welcomes visitors in the afternoon. Cards are also welcome.

Marvel Burke broke her am in a fall.

Chelsea Howell is healing from rotator cuff surgery.

Peggy Boyd is undergoing chemo therapy.

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Come join friends in the PUC Library on Sunday morning from 9:30 to 10:30 and join the Joys and Sorrows Circle. The Circle gives a compassionate space for sharing and listening. Organized by Sandy McNeil.

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To have your joy or concern appear here, send it tojoysandconcerns@pacificunitarian.org or call the PUC office. For information on how to reach the PUC office scroll down to theend of The View.

Pacific Southwest District UUAThe Pacific Southwest District of the Unitarian
Universalist Association consists of 50 Congregations in Arizona, Southern California and Southern Nevada. The PSWD is also part of the Pacific Western Region of the UUA.http://www.pswduua.org

Camp de Benneville Pines
Affiliated with the Pacific Southwest District of the Unitarian-Universalist Association and welcoming people of all faiths for programming compatible with the UU philosophy of respect for the interconnected web of life and for the worth and dignity of all human beings.http://www.uucamp.org